The Expulsion from Paradise, from "The Small Passion" 1510

Albrecht Dürer crafted this woodcut, “The Expulsion from Paradise,” around 1510, a scene laden with symbols of loss and divine judgment. Here, the angel, brandishing a sword, becomes a potent symbol of divine authority, a motif that echoes through art history from ancient depictions of winged deities to Renaissance portrayals of angelic intervention. Note how Adam and Eve, driven from Eden, embody shame and despair, their nakedness a stark reminder of their innocence lost. The serpent-entwined tree stands not merely as a source of temptation but as a powerful metaphor for forbidden knowledge and its consequences. Consider the gesture of Adam covering his face; this isn’t just shame, it’s a primal, psychological reaction to overwhelming guilt. This gesture reappears across cultures, a universal expression of remorse. Dürer taps into our collective memory of transgression. The expulsion is more than a biblical tale, it is a deep-seated emotional experience, a motif that is constantly replayed, reminding us of our own vulnerabilities and the eternal struggle between desire and consequence.